Rarely has Montreal come off looking as bad as it did on Wednesday. In an unprecedented operation, officers from the province’s anti-corruption ...

MONTREAL - Montreal Mayor Michael Applebaum characterized Tuesday’s police raids on city hall and borough offices as “a stain on the city” that were nonetheless necessary and said he is happy the province’s anti-corruption squad is doing its work.

Asked whether he fears for his mayoralty, Applebaum scoffed.

“I was elected to do my job and I will be here until the end of my mandate,” he said Wednesday. “I am not under investigation and I think you should wait to see what is happening and the work that is being done by UPAC (the Unité permanente anti-corruption).”

But if UPAC maintains its usual pattern of following raids with more raids and turns up anything that appears incriminating — and if provincial politicians go from their current noncommittal support of Applebaum to calling for his dismissal, as they did with his predecessor Gérald Tremblay — the chances of Montreal’s interim mayor making it to Nov. 3, the date of the next municipal elections, may be less assured.

Armed with search warrants, 125 officers descended on city hall, six borough halls, the headquarters of the city’s information technology department and the offices of former ruling party Union Montreal just after 4 p.m. on Tuesday, investigating allegations of fraud, producing false documents and abuse of trust.

The investigation focused on boroughs ruled by Union Montreal (Verdun, Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce, Anjou, St-Laurent, St-Léonard and Lachine) and was reportedly connected to illegal financing activities allegedly carried out by the party. Radio-Canada reported Wednesday sources said the raids were linked to a $100,000 bill connected to illegal fundraising, which was split into five to avoid detection.

If this is true, councillor Marvin Rotrand said, he considers the use of 125 officers somewhat heavy-handed.

Witnesses at the Charbonneau Commission have testified contractors and consulting firms paid an extra three per cent on the cost of contracts to Union Montreal in exchange for winning bids between 2005 and 2009.

Applebaum called two news conferences, one Tuesday, another Wednesday, to reiterate that he was not personally under investigation, but said he was happy to answer officers’ questions at city hall. Police did not search his office or remove any of his documents or computer files, Applebaum said, nor did they visit his house. Applebaum said he promised not to talk about what was discussed with police so as not to hamper the investigation.

He said he received no funding from Union Montreal when he ran for borough mayor in 2009, other than the use of shared materials like signs. Candidates in the Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce borough collected their own funding, shared it among each other and respected all the financing laws, he said. He also noted that he left the party and was elected interim mayor of Montreal as an independent.

However, Applebaum was a member of Union Montreal for 11 years, leaving in November only after its members passed him over for leadership of the party. He was also mayor of Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce, one of the boroughs raided Tuesday. And he was right-hand man to Tremblay, serving on the executive committee from 2009 on and as president of the committee from April 2011 until last November.

Leaders of the official opposition parties have said they still support Applebaum, stressing there have been no allegations of wrongdoing against him. Let the police do their job, Vision Montreal’s Louise Harel said, before adding her party is maintaining “maximum vigilance.” Projet Montréal’s Richard Bergeron said it was normal that police would want to speak to the mayor after storming into city hall, and that didn’t indicate guilt.

In order to be elected mayor, Applebaum formed a coalition government with both opposition parties, giving them unprecedented powers on the executive committee.

Gérald Tremblay was forced to resign as mayor after Union Montreal organizer Martin Dumont testified Tremblay was aware of illegal financing but turned a blind eye. That testimony was later brought into question, but not before Quebec Premier Pauline Marois said the allegations made it hard for Tremblay to exercise his authority, and Jean-François Lisée, minister responsible for Montreal, said they had asked Tremblay to reflect on his tenure and called the situation “intolerable.” Days later, Tremblay resigned. La Presse reported he told friends it was the abandonment by the PQ government that sealed the deal.

While some PQ ministers were decidedly tepid in their support of Applebaum yesterday, Lisée said that since Applebaum is co-operating with police and no allegations have been made against him, “as long as this situation does not change, our support is whole.”

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